Applicator device for a hair strand dyeing or lightening product, or for any other hair treatment

ABSTRACT

Applicator for coloring or bleaching product for hair tresses or other hair treatment, includes a lower jaw, planar and smooth on its base, constituting a coloring compartment or area fed by the treatment product, and an upper jaw, jointed with the lower jaw, maintained closed upon it through the action of a rebound spring, requiring the tip of the jaw which comprises a joint with a soft lip to clamp the selected tresses previously added to the coloring area on the lower jaw. The joint having a lip ( 9 ) has a tapered shape along its width making a distribution and spreading area for applying color, where the traction of the tool towards the rear naturally crushes a corner of dye and causes its natural diffusion inside each tress of hair. One or more moveable reservoirs containing the coloring composition, clamped above the upper jaw, feed the coloring compartment by pressing a button.

The present invention relates to an applicator for a hair strand dyeingor lightening product or for any other hair treatment.

An important present trend in the field of hair-doing is to create inthe hair, colorations or discolorations of hair strands giving more orless subtle and varied effects. Sometimes the combination of severaldifferent colors giving a still more spectacular effect is alsoappreciated.

To this day, the dyeing of hair strands above all remained a matter forprofessionals, from the moment that very subtle and durable effects aresought, but the expectation of the public is to be able to individuallycarry out one's own decoration of hair by means of simple and practicalmeans.

The well-known dyeing principles are of several types:

-   -   a basic coloration by means of a colored gel but this method is        very transient and its effects are inhibited during the first        shampoo.    -   surface coloration lodging itself in hair scales, but the effect        of which remains visible from a few days to a month.    -   coloration of a longer duration, a so-called perm and obtained        from an extemporaneous mixture of different components which        generally are a dye and an oxidizer.    -   or more simply lightening obtained generally with a mixture of        ammonia and oxidizer.

As for producing colored strands, there are many more or less complexmethods. Two main well-known manual methods for dyeing hair strands maybe mentioned, but with two major drawbacks: as the dyeing composition isnot protected from the external medium, it should be used rapidly sincethe presence of the oxidizing agent in the composition degrades thecolor, and possible contact of the products with fingers is a bignuisance. These methods are:

-   -   The use of a palette on which the hair strands extracted        beforehand from the hair will be positioned, which will then be        dyed by means of a brush with a dyeing product. This highly used        method is not very practical and requires significant skill and        is limited to use by professionals.    -   The use of a bonnet sealably capping the whole of the hair and        provided with holes through which are extracted the strands        which just have to be subsequently dyed from the outside, the        other hair being protected under the cap. The risk of dye        clusters at the root of the strands gives a very fair work        quality.

The use of more or less complex instruments or devices of courseprovides significant advantages by preserving the operator from anycontact or inhalation with aggressive and toxic chemicals. Neverthelessthese instruments or devices, having often been the object of patents,often remain not very performing and never solve the whole of theproblems. None of them allows several different colorations to becarried simultaneously on separate strands.

The present invention relating to an applicator for a hair strand dyeingor lightening product or for any other hair treatment solves all thesedifficulties notably by having the following possibilities:

-   -   Rapid production of dyed strands while observing the required        quality criteria such as good regularity, integral coloration of        the root at the end of the strand ensuring maximum longevity, a        coloration without any excess of product, avoiding undesirable        stains and runoffs.    -   Possible and simultaneous production of strands with different        colors.    -   Confining dyeing products in the device preventing any contact        with the external medium, which prevents the hand of the        operator from being etched, which prevents the latter from        inhaling toxic vapors, and which preserves from untimely        oxidization of the products, allowing economical and optimum use        of the latter.    -   Preliminary extraction of the strands to be dyed or treated        irregularly according to predetermined sizes and spacings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention which relates to an applicator for a hair stranddyeing or lightening product or for any other hair treatment, accordingto a particular embodiment is shown in a profile view in FIG. 1 and in aplane view in FIG. 2. This applicator has the shape of tongs comprisinga lower jaw Rep.1 with a handle Rep.22, an upper jaw Rep.2 with a handleRep.23, a dyeing area fed by a reservoir Rep.3 of dyeing or treatmentproduct, a removable comb for selecting strands Rep.4. It will be notedthat the jaws are voluntarily shifted sideways relatively to theircorresponding maneuvering handle.

The lower jaw Rep.1 is plane and smooth at its base Rep.5, and forms acompartment or coloration area by means of its sidewalls Rep.6. Theupper jaw Rep.2, which may be translucent in order to allow the operatorto control the work taking place inside the device, is jointed on theprevious one at the axis Rep.7 and is maintained closed on the latter bythe action of the return spring Rep.8. By means of the effect of thisspring, the end of the jaw which comprises a flexible lip seal gasket,Rep.9, strongly bears upon the base Rep.5 of the lower jaw on the onehand and provides the seal at the sidewalls Rep.6 on the other hand. Thelip seal gasket, which may also be translucent, has over the whole ofits width a relieving shape Rep.10 somewhat providing a distributing andspreading area for applying the dye.

Another seal gasket Rep.13 located in the rear portion of the upper jawRep.2 prevents overflowing of the product and undesirable leaks duringthe dyeing work. The removable reservoir Rep.3 having a main axis Rep.14containing the hair dyeing composition is clamped above the upper jawRep.2, comprising at its end a tubular conduit Rep.16 which will fitinto the feeding orifice Rep.12 passing through the upper jaw Rep.2, andthen the lip seal gasket in its centre. The main axis is equipped with apiston Rep.17 sealed by the O-ring Rep.18, capable of sliding inside thereservoir and having in the rear portion a push-rod Rep.19 facilitatingits driving-in.

In the side portion of the jaw Rep.1, a removable comb Rep.4 ishorizontally slipped on inside a groove Rep.20 and then simply blockedby its slightly conical tenon shape. This comb comprises a series ofdistributed teeth Rep.21 according to arrangements corresponding to thedesired spacings for the hair strands to be dyed. These teeth arepossibly tilted thereby facilitating the picking-up of hair strands.

The operating procedure for this applicator is the following:

The reservoir Rep.3 is reloaded beforehand with the product; extractionof the piston Rep.17 by means of the axis Rep.14, filling of thereservoir and replacement of the piston. The operator then selects thecomb Rep.4 corresponding to the spacing and the density of the hairstrands to be dyed. The strands are selected and held with one hand.With the other hand, the tongs are opened by tightening the handlesRep.22 and Rep;23, and the strands are then introduced sideways insidethe aperture, this operation being highly facilitated by the fact thatthe maneuvering handles shifted sideways relatively to the jaws allowfree passage of the hair. The jaws are then brought closer as possibleto the scalp, and then by releasing the handles, the return spring Rep.8may apply an energetic nip onto the selected strands. By pressing on thepush-rod Rep.19 of the reservoir it is possible to inject the dyeingproduct inside the dyeing area, the latter remaining confined betweenthe deformable lip seal gasket, side walls Rep.6 and rear seal gasketRep.13. The backward pull of the tongs naturally squeezes by the lipseal gasket the product uniformly distributed over its length, whichinduces its natural diffusion inside each of the hair strands while therear seal gasket Rep.13 avoids external overflows. The operation isprolonged until complete release of the strands.

This operation is repeated as many times as required in order to treatthe whole of the hair.

In one alternative, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a removable combRep.29 identical with the comb Rep.4 and including teeth which areperfectly facing the latter, slipped on in the same way horizontallyinside a groove Rep.30, and then simply blocked by its slightly conicaltenon shape may be added as a side portion of the jaw Rep.2. Thus, whenthe jaws Rep.1 and Rep.2 are closed, both combs Rep.4 and Rep.29 are inperfect contact and appear as a single unique comb. For picking up hairstrands, the operating procedure starts in the same way as in the caseof a single comb but with the difference that upon opening the tongs;the separating jaws induce separation of both combs. In the case ofthick and long strands or else in the case of frizzy or very curly hair,disentangling is then greatly facilitated.

According to another particular embodiment and shown in FIG. 5, thelower jaw Rep.1 comprises a set of compartments made by the internalpartitions Rep.24, while the lip seat gasket Rep.25 is cut out intoseveral portions sealing each of the compartments separately, at thebase on the one hand and at the respective sidewalls Rep.6 or Rep.24 onthe other hand, depending on the case, the lip seal gasket over thewhole of its length of each of the compartments having a relieving shapeRep.10 somewhat providing a distributing and spreading area for applyingthe dye. At right angles to the dyeing area, at each of thecompartments, a feeding orifice Rep.12 passes through the upper jawRep.2, and subsequently the lip seal gasket in its centre. At each ofthe inlets of the orifices, a specific reservoir clamped on the upperjaw will fit in at its tubular conduit Rep.16. A yoke Rep.27 enables asimultaneous pressure to be exerted on each of the push-buttons of thereservoirs.

In this case, the operating procedure of this applicator remains verysimilar to the previous one except that by acting on the yoke Rep.27each piston may be pushed in, simultaneously, which induces an injectionof a different dye and separately in each of the compartments andtherefore colorations with varied tones may be achieved.

According to another particular embodiment, the applicator is made witha packaging according to a disposable individual treatment applicationkit for a festive or short-lived coloration comprising simplified tongswith a ready-to-use dye refill.

1. An applicator for a hair strand dyeing or lightening product or forany other hair treatment, in the form of tongs, characterized by itslower jaw Rep.1, plane and smooth at its base Rep.5 delimited by itssidewalls Rep.6, which form a compartment of a dyeing area supplied withthe dyeing, lightening or treatment product, and then by its upper jawRep.2, which may be translucent so as to allow the operator to controlthe work taking place inside the device, jointed on the previous one atthe axis Rep.7, maintained closed on the latter by the action of thereturn spring Rep.8, forcing the end of the jaw which comprises aflexible seal gasket Rep.9 to strongly press on the base of the lowerjaw and therefore providing an energetic nip of the selected strandsintroduced beforehand in said dyeing area, this lip seal gasket alsoproviding the seal at the sidewalls Rep.6, which may also betranslucent, having over the whole of its width a relieving shape Rep.10somewhat providing a distributing and spreading area for applying thedye, the backward pull of the tongs naturally squeezing the product,which induces its natural diffusion inside each of the hair strandswhile the gasket Rep.13 located in the rear portion of the jaw Rep.2prevents external overflows.
 2. The applicator for a hair strand dyeingor lightening product or for any other hair treatment according to claim1, characterized by a removable reservoir Rep.3 having a main axisRep.14, containing the composition for dyeing or lightening or any othertreatment for hair, clamped above the upper jaw Rep.2, comprising at itsend a tubular conduit Rep.16 which will fit into the feeding orificeRep.12 passing through the upper jaw Rep.2, and then the lip seal gasketin its centre at right angles to the dyeing area, the main axis havingin the rear portion a push-rod Rep.19, equipped with a piston Rep.17sealed by the O-ring Rep.18, allowing sliding inside the reservoir forpushing back the product into the dyeing area.
 3. The applicator for ahair strand dyeing or lightening product or for any other hair treatmentaccording to claim 1, characterized by the maneuvering handles Rep.22and Rep.23 shifted sideways relatively to the jaws Rep.1 and Rep.2 suchthat, when the latter are open, free passage of the hair strandsintroduced sideways is strongly facilitated.
 4. The applicator for ahair strand dyeing or lightening product or for any other hair treatmentaccording to claim 1, characterized by a removable comb Rep.4 located ina side portion of the lower jaw Rep.1, slipped on horizontally inside agroove Rep.20 and then simply blocked by its slightly conical tenonshape, this comb comprising a series of teeth distributed Rep.21according to arrangements corresponding to the desired spacings for thehair strands to be dyed, these teeth may possibly be tilted, therebyfacilitating the picking-up of hair strands.
 5. The applicator for ahair strand dyeing or lightening product or for any other hair treatmentaccording to claim 1, characterized by a second removable comb Rep.29 ina side portion of the jaw Rep.2, symmetrical to the comb Rep.4 andincluding teeth which are perfectly facing the latter, slipped on in thesame way horizontally inside a groove Rep.30 and simply blocked by itsslightly conical tenon shape, thus, when the jaws Rep.1 and Rep.2 areclosed, both combs Rep.4 and Rep.29 in perfect contact and appearing asa single and unique comb, separate into two combs when the jaws open. 6.The applicator for a hair strand dyeing or lightening product or for anyother hair treatment according to claim 1, characterized by the lowerjaw Rep.1 comprising a set of compartments made by the internalpartitions Rep.24, while the lip seal gasket Rep.25 is cut out intoseveral portions sealing each of the compartments separately on the onehand at the base, and at the sidewalls Rep. 6 or Rep.24 on the otherhand depending on the case, the lip seal gasket over the whole of itslength of each of the compartments having a relieving shape Rep. 10somewhat providing a distributing and spreading area for applying thedye, at each of the compartments, a feeding orifice Rep.12 passingthrough the upper jaw Rep.2, and subsequently the lip seal gasket in itscentre, at each of the inlets of the orifices a specific reservoirclamped on the upper jaw which will fit in at its tubular conduitRep.16, the yoke Rep.27 allowing simultaneous pressure to be exerted oneach of the push-buttons of the reservoirs.
 7. An application kit for ahair strand dyeing or lightening product or for any other hair treatmentaccording to claim 1, characterized by its disposable packaging forindividual treatment, for festive or short-lived coloration onlycomprising tongs with its two jaws Rep.1 and Rep.2 forming a singlenarrow compartment for providing the treatment of a single strand, thereservoir Rep.3 being a ready-to-use refill.
 8. The applicator for ahair strand dyeing or lightening product or for any other hair treatmentaccording to claim 2, characterized by the lower jaw Rep.1 comprising aset of compartments made by the internal partitions Rep.24, while thelip seal gasket Rep.25 is cut out into several portions sealing each ofthe compartments separately on the one hand at the base, and at thesidewalls Rep. 6 or Rep.24 on the other hand depending on the case, thelip seal gasket over the whole of its length of each of the compartmentshaving a relieving shape Rep. 10 somewhat providing a distributing andspreading area for applying the dye, at each of the compartments, afeeding orifice Rep.12 passing through the upper jaw Rep.2, andsubsequently the lip seal gasket in its centre, at each of the inlets ofthe orifices a specific reservoir clamped on the upper jaw which willfit in at its tubular conduit Rep.16, the yoke Rep.27 allowingsimultaneous pressure to be exerted on each of the push-buttons of thereservoirs.
 9. The applicator for a hair strand dyeing or lighteningproduct or for any other hair treatment according to claim 3,characterized by the lower jaw Rep.1 comprising a set of compartmentsmade by the internal partitions Rep.24, while the lip seal gasket Rep.25is cut out into several portions sealing each of the compartmentsseparately on the one hand at the base, and at the sidewalls Rep. 6 orRep.24 on the other hand depending on the case, the lip seal gasket overthe whole of its length of each of the compartments having a relievingshape Rep. 10 somewhat providing a distributing and spreading area forapplying the dye, at each of the compartments, a feeding orifice Rep.12passing through the upper jaw Rep.2, and subsequently the lip sealgasket in its centre, at each of the inlets of the orifices a specificreservoir clamped on the upper jaw which will fit in at its tubularconduit Rep.16, the yoke Rep.27 allowing simultaneous pressure to beexerted on each of the push-buttons of the reservoirs.
 10. Theapplicator for a hair strand dyeing or lightening product or for anyother hair treatment according to claim 4, characterized by the lowerjaw Rep.1 comprising a set of compartments made by the internalpartitions Rep.24, while the lip seal gasket Rep.25 is cut out intoseveral portions sealing each of the compartments separately on the onehand at the base, and at the sidewalls Rep. 6 or Rep.24 on the otherhand depending on the case, the lip seal gasket over the whole of itslength of each of the compartments having a relieving shape Rep. 10somewhat providing a distributing and spreading area for applying thedye, at each of the compartments, a feeding orifice Rep.12 passingthrough the upper jaw Rep.2, and subsequently the lip seal gasket in itscentre, at each of the inlets of the orifices a specific reservoirclamped on the upper jaw which will fit in at its tubular conduitRep.16, the yoke Rep.27 allowing simultaneous pressure to be exerted oneach of the push-buttons of the reservoirs.
 11. The applicator for ahair strand dyeing or lightening product or for any other hair treatmentaccording to claim 5, characterized by the lower jaw Rep.1 comprising aset of compartments made by the internal partitions Rep.24, while thelip seal gasket Rep.25 is cut out into several portions sealing each ofthe compartments separately on the one hand at the base, and at thesidewalls Rep. 6 or Rep.24 on the other hand depending on the case, thelip seal gasket over the whole of its length of each of the compartmentshaving a relieving shape Rep. 10 somewhat providing a distributing andspreading area for applying the dye, at each of the compartments, afeeding orifice Rep.12 passing through the upper jaw Rep.2, andsubsequently the lip seal gasket in its centre, at each of the inlets ofthe orifices a specific reservoir clamped on the upper jaw which willfit in at its tubular conduit Rep.16, the yoke Rep.27 allowingsimultaneous pressure to be exerted on each of the push-buttons of thereservoirs.
 12. An application kit for a hair strand dyeing orlightening product or for any other hair treatment according to claim 2,characterized by its disposable packaging for individual treatment, forfestive or short-lived coloration only comprising tongs with its twojaws Rep.1 and Rep.2 forming a single narrow compartment for providingthe treatment of a single strand, the reservoir Rep.3 being aready-to-use refill.
 13. An application kit for a hair strand dyeing orlightening product or for any other hair treatment according to claim 3,characterized by its disposable packaging for individual treatment, forfestive or short-lived coloration only comprising tongs with its twojaws Rep.1 and Rep.2 forming a single narrow compartment for providingthe treatment of a single strand, the reservoir Rep.3 being aready-to-use refill.